Transcript Positive Relationships Support School Readiness

Collaboration:
The Essential
Component to School
Readiness
Judy R. Jablon
Ready At Five Symposium
October 3, 2006
Today’s Outcomes
•
Increased understanding of how collaboration supports
school readiness
•
Six strategies for creating a culture of collaboration on
behalf of young children
•
Shared insights about readiness collaboration in
Maryland
Maryland’s Outstanding
Readiness Efforts
EVERYONE
Has a Role in Children’s Readiness
It turns out that one teaches
readiness or provides
opportunities for its nurture,
one does not simply wait for
it… a child who is ready to
learn will not learn unless he
or she is taught or unless the
conditions are propitious for
the child to learn on his or
her own.
Meisels, 1999 quoting Bruner
COLLABORATION
• Getting results together that cannot be achieved
working alone
• Collaboration for school readiness means
– Doing something jointly on behalf of children and
families
– Having shared outcomes
– Partnering so that the result is increased success for
children and families
Extending the Culture of
COLLABORATION
in Maryland
©Judy R. Jablon 2006
How does collaboration support
school readiness?
School Readiness involves new
connections among schools,
families, childcare centers, mental
and physical health providers, and
all others who come in contact with
young children.
Who needs to collaborate on behalf of
children’s readiness success?
• Teachers and teachers
– Within a classroom
– Within programs
– Across programs for continuity
• Teachers and families
– Parents are children’s first teachers
• Schools and families
– Transition
• Families, schools and community agencies
– Combining resources
– Keeping children safe and healthy
– Supporting children and families
Benefits of Collaboration
•
Combined assets and resources can provide more comprehensive
and less fragmented services
•
•
•
Formal linkages among services leads to improved family service and
support systems
Improved comprehensive services result in lower costs and better
outcomes for children, families and communities
Consistent use of best practices leads to standards of quality and
improved child outcomes
–
–
–
Ongoing communication between early care and public school
programs leads to greater continuity
Ongoing communication between families, child care programs and
schools lead to more effective transitions
Conversations among all programs serving children and families can
result in providing children with the experience and knowledge they
need to be successful in school
What gets in the way?
What are challenges to collaboration?
• External challenges
• Internal challenges
External Challenges
• Time
• Turf
• Money
Internal Challenges
• Feels easier to do it alone
• Only so much energy
• Hard to cut through the static
Seems Easier to Work Alone
• Teaching has traditionally been
done in isolation
• It takes more time and effort to
collaborate
• It requires developing new ways of
doing things
The Cup of Energy
©Judy R. Jablon 2006
Cut through the Static
©Judy R. Jablon 2006
Six Strategies for Collaboration
1.
Define goals and benchmarks
2.
Determine participants
3.
Build relationships
4.
Communicate effectively
5.
Develop a work plan
6.
Take action and monitor progress
Strategy #1
Define Goals and Benchmarks
• Establish clear goals
– Formal collaborations must decide on a process to
develop a common mission, values and incentives for
member participation
– Informal collaborations must identify and articulate a
common set of goals
• Use student data, program data, and research to
shape goals
• Determine benchmarks for measuring progress
and results
Strategy #2
Determine Participants
• Think through who should participate
• Be clear about how individuals will contribute to and
benefit from the collaboration
• Define meaningful and engaging roles so that the
underserved groups have equal voices
• Acknowledge the skills and resources each participant
brings to the collaboration
• Strive for collaborative advantage vs. collaborative
inertia
• Avoid duplication of participant effort to maximize
resources and save time and energy
Strategy #3
Build Relationships
• Take time to get to know collaborators
• Show respect and appreciation
• Find moments of connection
Strategy #4
Communicate Effectively
• Agree on a common language that reflects shared ideas
• Develop skills
– Listen well
– Balance advocacy and inquiry
– Avoid assumptions
• Acknowledge the role of cultural and linguistic diversity
– Recognize culture factors
– Use strategies for increasing cultural awareness
• Use a variety of methods to communicate
– Frequent, relevant communication both formal and informal
– Develop print, audiovisual, and electronic materials that are
culturally and linguistically relevant
• Develop a system for addressing and resolving conflicts
among members of the collaboration
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Be present in conversations
Ask astute questions
Remain open-minded and understanding
Avoid interrupting
Minimize distractions
Seek suggestions
• Are a fact of human
nature
• Influence interactions
• Interfere with
relationships
• Are best avoided, but
how?
Cultural Factors Affecting Collaboration
• How we learn
• How we deal with anger
• How we view hurdles
• How we get better at what
we do
• How we deal with
diversity
• How we approach
new problems
• How leaders lead
• How we introduce new
people
• What we perceive as status
symbols
• What are “tribal rules”
Tools For Change Workshops, NSDC- 1993
Strategy #5
Develop a Work Plan
• For all collaborations, both formal and informal
– Formal collaborations must involve all key
stakeholders and require formal facilitation
– Informal collaborations get better results by using a
work plan
• Work plans must be data driven and results
oriented
• Results must link to outcomes for children and
families
Key Steps to Effective Work Plans
• Focus effort and resources around producing a core set
of improvements/outcomes that can be evaluated over
time.
• Translate ideas into actions.
• Keep linking actions to resources to results.
• Start small: set goals and build new ones incrementally.
• Set milestones and completion deadlines, and identify
who is responsible for each.
• Develop evaluative criteria.
Strategy #6
Take Action and Monitor Progress
• Acknowledge successes
• Use data to revise work plan based on what
works and what doesn’t
• Identify remaining challenges or gaps and how
to address them
• Avoid “activities” orientation and strive for a
“results” orientation
• Adhere to your evaluation plan and timetable
Collaborating in Maryland
Formal Collaborations
Informal Collaborations
• Leadership in Action
Groups
• Local Management
Boards
• Judy Center Partnerships
• An ongoing conversation
between a parent and
teacher about a child
• Prek or K teachers within
a school talking about
best practices in early
literacy
• Librarians and teachers
talking about supporting
family literacy
Professional Learning Communities
•
•
•
•
What are they?
What makes them work?
How can they support school readiness?
What are the challenges?
– The creation of a learning community can not be
reduced to a to do list.
– It demands persistence… a willingness to accept
challenges, commitment, constancy, and persistence.
Applying Today’s Messages
• What key insights did you take from our
discussion of collaboration?
• In what ways will you continue to learn about
collaboration?
• How can you apply today’s experience in your
setting?
• What are you interested in doing next?